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THE CYCLE OF SPRING 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA. Ltd. 

TORONTO 



THE 
CYCLE OF SPRING 



BY 

SIR RABINDRANATH TAGORE 



Nfm fork 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1917 

All rights reserved 






Copyright, 1917 

By the MACMILLAN COMPANY 

Set up and electrotyped. Published February, 1917. 



FEB 24 1917 
©CID 46224 

Kyt 



I DEDICATE THIS BOOK 

TO MT BOYS OF THE SHANTINIRETAN 

WHO HAVE FREED 

THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH 

HIDDEN IN THE HEART OF THIS OLD POET 

AND TO DINENDRANATH 

WHO IS 

THE GUIDE OP THESE BOYS IN THEIR FESTIVALS 

AND TREASURE HOUSE OF ALL MY SONGS 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 



The greater part of the introductory por- 
tion of this drama was translated from the 
original Bengali by Mr. C. F. Andrews and 
Prof. Nishikanta Sen and revised by the 
author. 



INTRODUCTION 

Characters of the Prelude 

King, Vizier, General, (Buoy 
Varma) 

Chinese Ambassador, Pundit, (Sruti- 
bhushan) 

Poet, (Kabi-shekhar) Guards, Cour- 
tiers, Herald 

The stage is on two levels: the higher, at 
the hack, for the Song-preludes alone, 
concealed by a purple curtain; the 
lower only being discovered when the 
drop goes up. Diagonally across the 
extreme left of the lower stage, is ar- 
ranged the king's court, with various 
platforms, for the various dignitaries 
ascending to the canopied throne. The 
body of the stage is left free for the 
'Play' when that develops, 
9 



10 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

[Enter some Courtiers.] 

[The names of the speakers are not 
given in the margin, as they can 
easily be guessed.] 

Hush! Hush! 

What is the matter? 

The King is in great distress. 

How dreadful ! 

Who is that over there, playing on 
his flute .f^ 

Why? What's the matter? 

The King is greatly disturbed. 

How dreadful! 

What are those wild children doing, 
making so much noise? 

They are the Mandal family. 

Then tell the Mandal family to keep 
their children quiet. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 11 

Where can that Vizier have gone 
to? 

Here I am. What's the matter? 

Haven't you heard the news? 

No, what? 

The King is greatly troubled in his 
mind. 

Well, I've got some very important 
news about the frontier war. 

War we may have, but not the 
news. 

Then the Chinese Ambassador is 
waiting to see His Majesty. 

Let him wait. Anyhow he can't see 
the King. 

Can't see the King? — ^Ah, here is the 
King at last. Look at him coming this 
way, with a mirror in his hand. "Long 
live the King. Long live the King." 



12 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

If it please Your Majesty, it is time 
to go to the Court. 

Time to go? Yes, time to go, but 
not to the Court. 

What does Your Majesty mean.f^ 

Haven't you heard .^ The bell has 
just been rung to dismiss the Court. 

When.?> What bell.? We haven't 
heard any bell. 

How could you hear.f^ They have 
rung it in my ears alone. 

Oh, Sire. No one can have had the 
impertinence to do that. 

Vizier! They are ringing it now. 

Pardon me. Sire, if I am very stupid; 
but I cannot understand. 

Look at this. Vizier, look at this. 

Your Majesty's hair — 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 13 

Can't you see there's a bell-ringer 
there? 

Oh, Your Majesty. Are you playing 
a joke? 

The joke is not mine, but His, who 
has got the whole world by the ear, and 
is having His jest. Last night, when 
the Queen was putting a garland of 
jasmines round my neck, she cried out 
with alarm,— ''King, what is this? 
Here are two grey hairs behind your 
ear. 

Oh, please. Sire, don't worry so much 
about a little thing like that. Why! 
The royal physician — 

Vizier! The founder of our dynasty 
had his royal physician, too. But what 
could he do? Death has left his card of 
invitation behind my ear. The Queen 
wanted, then and there, to pluck out 
the grey hairs. But I said, — Queen, 
what's the use? You may remove 



14 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Death's invitation, but can you remove 
Death, the Inviter? — So, for the pres- 
ent, — 

Yes, Sire, for the present, let us at- 
tend to business. 

Business, Vizier! I have no time for 
business. Send for the Pundit. Send 
for Sruti-bhushan. 

y 

But, Sire, the General, — 

The General? — No, no, not the Gen- 
eral. Send for the Pundit. 

But, the news from the frontier — 

Vizier, the news has come to me 
from the last great frontier of all, 
the frontier of Death. Send for the 
Pundit. 

But if Your Majesty will give me one 
moment, the Ambassador from the 
great Emperor of China — 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 15 

Vizier, a greater Emperor has sent 
his embassy to me. Call Sruti-bhushan. 

Very well, Sire. But your father-in- 
law, — 

It is not my father-in-law whom I 
want now. Send for the Pundit. 

But, if it please you to hear me this 
once. The poet, Kabi-shekar, is wait- 
ing with his new book called the "Gar- 
den of Poesy." 

Let your poet disport himself, jump- 
ing about on the topmost branches of 
his Garden of Poesy, but send for the 
Pundit. 

Very well. Sire. I will send for him 
at once. 

Tell him to bring his book of devo- 
tions with him, called the " Ocean of 
Renunciation." 

Yes, Sire. 



16 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

But, Vizier. Who are those outside 
making all that noise? Go out and stop 
them at once. I must have peace. 

If it please Your Majesty, there is a 
famine in Nagapatam and the head- 
men of the villages are praying to be 
allowed to see your face. 

My time is short, Vizier. I must 
have peace. 

They say their time is shorter. They 
are at death's door. They too want 
peace, — peace from the burning of 
hunger. 

Vizier! The burning of hunger is 
quenched at last on the funeral pyre. 

Then these wretched people, — 

Wretched ! — ^Listen to the advice of a 
wretched King to his wretched sub- 
jects. It is futile to be impatient, and 
try to break through the net of the in- 
exorable Fisherman. Sooner or later, 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 17 

Death the Fisherman will have his 
haul. 

Well then? 

Let me have the Pundit, and his book 
of Renunciation. 

And in this scarcity, — 

Vizier! The real scarcity is of time, 
and not of food. We are all suffering 
from starvation of time. None of us 
has enough of it, — neither the King, 
nor his people. 

Then,— 

Then know, that our petitions for 
more time will all go to the last fire of 
doom. So why strain our voice in 
prayer .f^ — Ah, here is Sruti-bhushan at 
last. My reverence to you. 

Pundit, do tell the King that the 
Goddess of Fortune deserts him who 
gives way to melancholy. 



18 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Sruti-bhushan, what is my Vizier 
whispering to you? 

He tells me, King, to instruct you 
in the ways of fortune. 

What instruction can you give? 

There is a verse in my book of devo- 
tions which runs as follows: 

Fortune, as fickle as lotus-flower. 
Closes her favours when comes the hour. 
Oh, foolish man, how can you trust her. 
Who comes of a sudden, and goes in a 
fluster? 

Ah, Pundit. One breath of your 
teaching blows out the false flame of 
ambition. Our teacher has said: 

■*' Teeth fall out, hair grows grey. 
Yet man clings to hope that plays him 
false." 

Well, King, now that you have intro- 
duced the subject of hope, let me give 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 19 

you another verse from the " Ocean of 
Renunciation." It runs as follows: 

That fetters are binding^ all are aware; 
But fetters of hope are strange, I declare, 
Hope's captive is tossed in the whirlpool's 

wake, 
And only grows still when the fetters 

break. 

Ah, Pundit. Your words are price- 
less. Vizier, give him a hundred gold 
sequins at once. What's that noise 
outside.^ 

It is the famine-stricken people. 

Tell them to hold their peace. 

Let Sruti-bhushan, with his book of 
devotions, go and try to bring them 
peace; and, in the meanwhile. Your 
Majesty might discuss war matters, — 

No, no. Let the war matters come 
later. I can't let Sruti-bhushan go yet. 



20 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

King, you said something to me, a 
moment ago, about a gift of gold. Now 
mere gold, by itself, does not confer any 
permanent benefit. It is said in my 
book of devotions, called the " Ocean of 
Renunciation," 

He who gives gold, gives only pain; 
When the gold is spent grief comes again. 
When a lakh, or crore, of gold is spent. 
Grief only remains in the empty tent. 

Ah, Pundit. How exquisite. So you 
don't want any gold, my Master .^^ 

No, King, I don't want gold, but 
something more permanent, which 
would make your merit permanent 
also. I should be quite content, if you 
gave me the living of Kanchanpur. 
For it is said in the "Renunciation" — 

No, Pundit, I quite understand. 
You needn't quote scripture to support 
your claim. I understand quite well, — 
Vizier! 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 21 

Yes, Your Majesty. 

See that the rich province of Kan- 
chanpur is settled on the Pundit. — 
What's the matter now outside there? 
What are they crying for? 

If it please Your Majesty, it is the 
people. 

Why do they cry so repeatedly? 

Their cry is repeated, I admit, but the 
reason remains most monotonously the 
same. They are starving. 

But, King, I must tell you before I 
forget it. It is the one desire of my wife 
to make her whole body jingle, from 
head to foot, in praise of your munifi- 
cence; but, alas, the sound is too feeble 
for want of proper ornaments. 

I understand you. Pundit. Vizier! 
Order ornaments from the Court Jewel- 
ler for Sruti-bhushan's wife imme- 
diately. 



22 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

And, King, while he is about it, 
would you tell the Vizier, that we are 
both of us distracted in our devotions 
by house-repairs. Let him ask the 
royal masons to put up a thoroughly 
well-built house, where we can practise 
our devotions in peace. 

Very well. Pundit, — Vizier! 

Yes, Your Majesty. 

Give the order at once. 

Sire, your treasury is empty. Funds 
are wanting. 

Pooh! That's an old story. I hear 
that every year. It is your business to 
increase the funds, and mine to increase 
the wants. What do you say, Sruti- 
bhushan.f^ 

King, I cannot blame the Vizier. He 
is looking after your treasures in this 
world. We are looking after your treas- 
ures in the next. So where he sees 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 23 

want, we see wealth. Now, if you 
would only let me dive deep once more 
into the "Ocean of Renunciation" you 
will find it written as follows: 

That King^s coffers are well stored. 
Where wealth alone on worth is poured. 

Pundit, your company is most val- 
uable. 

Your Majesty, Sruti-bhushan knows 
its value to a farthing. Come, Sruti- 
bhushan, make haste. Let us collect all 
the wealth you need for your Treasury 
of Devotion. For wealth has the ugly 
habit of diminishing fast. If we are 
not quick about it, little will remain to 
enable us to observe our renunciation 
with all splendour. 

Yes, Vizier, let us go at once. {To 
the King.) When he is making such a 
fuss about a tiny matter like this, it is 
best to pacify him first and then return 
to you afterwards. 



U THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Pundit, I am afraid that, some day, 
you will leave my royal protection al- 
together, and retire to the forest. 

King, so long as I find contentment 
in a King's palace, it is as good as a 
hermitage for my peace of mind. I 
must now leave you. King. Vizier, let 
us go. 

[The Vizier and Pundit go out] 

Oh dear me! Whatever shall I do.^ 
Here's the Poet coming. I am afraid 
he'll make me break all my good resolu- 
tions. — Oh, my grey hairs, cover my 
ears, so that the Poet's allurements 
may not enter. 

Why, King, what's the matter? I 
hear you want to send away your Poet. 

What have I to do with poets, when 
poetry brings me this parting message.'^ 

What parting message? 

Look at this behind my ear. Don't 
you see it? 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 25 

See what? Grey hairs? Why, King, 
don't you worry about that. 

Poet, Nature is trying to rub out the 
green of youth, and to paint everything 
white. 

No, no. King. You haven't under- 
stood the artist. On that white ground. 
Nature will paint new colours. 

I don't see any sign of colours yet. 

They are all within. In the heart of 
the white dwell all the colours of the 
rainbow. 

O, Poet, do be quiet. You disturb 
me when you talk like that. 

King, if this youth fades, let it fade. 
Another Queen of Youth is coming. 
And she is putting a garland of pure 
white jasmines round your head, in 
order to be your bride. The wedding 
festival is being made ready, behind 
the scene. 



26 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Oh, dear, Poet. You will undo every- 
thing. Do go away. Ho there. Guard. 
Go at once and call Sruti-bhushan. 

What will you do with him, King, 
when he comes.? 

I will compose my mind, and prac- 
tise my renunciation. 

Ah, King, when I heard that news, I 
came at once. For I can be your com- 
panion in this practice of renunciation. 

You.? 

Yes, I, King. We, Poets, exist for 
this very purpose. We set men free 
from their desires. 

I don't understand you. You talk 
in riddles. 

What.? You don't understand me? 
And yet you have been reading my 
poems all this while! — There is renun- 
ciation in our words, renunciation in 
the metre, renunciation in our music. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 27 

That is why fortune always forsakes us; 
and we, in turn always forsake fortune. 
We go about, all day long, initiating 
the youths in the sacred cult of fortune- 
forsaking. 

What does it say to us? 

It says: 

Ah, brothers, don't cling to your goods 

and chattels, 
And sit ever in the corner of your room. 
Come out, come out into the open 

world. 
Come out into the highways of life. 
Come out, ye youthful Renouncers. 

But, Poet, do you really mean to say 
that the highway of the open world is 
the pathway of renunciation.^ 

Why not. King? In the open world 
all is change, all is life, all is movement. 
And he who ever moves and journeys 
with this life-movement, dancing and 
playing on his flute as he goes, he is the 



^8 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

'rue Renouncer. He is the true dis- 
ciple of the minstrel Poet. 

But how then can I get peace? I 
must have peace. 

Oh, King, we haven't the least desire 
for peace. We are the Renouncers. 

But ought we not to get that treas- 
ure, which is said to be never-changing .^^ 

No, we don't covet any never- 
changing treasures. We are the Re- 
nouncers. 

What do you mean? Oh, dear. Poet, 
you will undo everything, if you talk 
like that. You are destroying my peace 
of mind. Call Sruti-bhushan. Let some 
one call the Pundit. 

What I mean. King, is this. We are 
the true Renouncers, because change 
is our very secret. We lose, in order 
to find. We have no faith in the never- 
changing. <l 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 29 

What do you mean? 

Haven't you noticed the detachment 

of the rushing river, as it runs splashing 

from its mountain cave? It gives itself 

away so swiftly, and only thus it finds 

itself. What is never-changing, for the 

river, is the desert sand, where it loses 

its course. 

'^ 
' Ah, but listen, Poet — listen to those 

cries there outside. That is your world. 

How do you deal with that? 

King, they are your starving people. 

My people, Poet? Why do you call 
them that? They are the world's peo- 
ple, not mine. Have I created their 
miseries? What can your youthful 
Poet Renouncers do to relieve suflferings 
like theirs? Tell me that. 

King, it is we alone who can truly 
bear those sufferings, because we are 
like the river that flows on in gladness, 



30 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

thus lightening our burden, and the 
burden of the world.f But the hard, 
metalled road is fixed and never- 
changing. And so it makes the burden 
more burdensome. The heavy loads 
groan and creak along it, and cut deep 
gashes in its breast. We, Poets, call to 
everyone to carry all their joys and 
sorrows lightly, in a rhythmic measure. 
^l^Our call is the Renouncers' call. 

Ah, Poet, now I don't care a straw 
for Sruti-bhushan. Let the Pundit go 
hang. But, do you know what my 
trouble is now.^^ Though I can't, for 
the life of me, understand your words, 
the music haunts me. Now, it's just 
the other way round with the Pundit. 
His words are clear enough, and they 
obey the rules of syntax quite correctly. 
But the tune! — No, it's no use telling 
you any further. 

^ King, our words don't speak, they 
sing. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 31 

Well, Poet, what do you want to do 
now? 

King, I'm going to have a race 
through those cries, which are rising 
outside your gate. 

What do you mean? Famine rehef 
is for men of business. Poets oughtn't 
to have anything to do with things 
Hke that, f * 

King, business men always make 
their business so out of tune. That is 
why we, Poets, hasten to tune it. 

Now come, my dear Poet, do speak 
in plainer language. 

King, they work, because they must. 
We work, because we are in love with 
life. That is why they condemn us as 
unpractical, and we condemn them as 
lifeless. 

But who is right. Poet? Who wins? 
You, or they? 



32 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

We, King, we. We always win. 

But, Poet, your proof, — 

King, the greatest things in the world 
disdain proof. But if you could for a 
time wipe out all the poets and all their 
poetry from the world, then you would 
soon discover, by their very absence, 
where the men of action got their en- 
ergy from, and who really supplied the 
life-sap to their harvest-field. It is not 
those who have plunged deep down into 
the Pundit's Ocean of Renunciation, 
nor those who are always clinging to 
their possessions; it is not those who 
have become adepts in turning out 
quantities of work, nor those who are 
ever telling the dry beads of duty, — it 
is not these who win at last. But it is 
those who love, because they live. 
These truly win, for they truly sur- 
render. They accept pain with all 
their strength and with all their 
strength they remove pain. It is they 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 33 

who create, because they know the 
secret of true joy, which is the secret 
of detachment. 

Well then, Poet, if that be so, what 
do you ask me to do now? 

I ask you. King, to rise up and move. 
That cry outside yonder is the cry of 
life to life. And if the life within you 
is not stirred, in response to that call 
without, then there is cause for anxiety 
indeed, — not because duty has been 
neglected, but because you are dying. 

But, Poet, surely we must die, sooner 
or later .f^ 

No, King, that's a lie. When we feel 
for certain that we are alive, then we 
know for certain that we shall go on 
living. Those who have never put life 
to the test, in all possible ways, these 
keep on crying out, — 

Life is fleeting. Life is waning. 
Life is like a dew drop on a lotus leaf. 



34 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

But, isn't life inconstant? 

Only because its movement is un- 
ceasing. The moment you stop this 
movement, that moment you begin to 
play the drama of Death. 

Poet, are you speaking the truth .^^ 
Shall we really go on living.? 

Yes, we shall really go on living. 

Then, Poet, if we are going to go on 
living, we must make our life worth its 
eternity. Is not that so? 

Yes, indeed. 

Ho, Guard. 

Yes, your Royal Highness. 

Call the Vizier at once. 

Yes, your Royal Highness. 

[Vizier enters.] 

What is Your Majesty's pleasure? 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 35 

Vizier ! Why on earth have you kept 
me waiting so long? 

I was very busy, Your Majesty. 

Busy? What were you busy about? 

I was dismissing the General. 

Why should you dismiss the General? 
We have got to discuss war matters 
with him. 

And arrangements had to be made 
for the state-departure of the Chinese 
Ambassador. 

What do you mean by his state- 
departure? 

If it please Your Majesty, you did 
not grant him an interview. So he — 

Vizier ! You surprise me. Is this the 
way you manage state affairs? What 
has happened to you? Have you lost 
your senses? 

Then, again. Sire, I was trying to 



36 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

find a way to pull down the Poet's 
house. At first, no one would under- 
take it. Then, at last, all the Pundits 
of the Royal School of Grammar and 
Logic came up with their proper tools 
and set to work. 

Vizier! Are you mad this morning? 
Pull down the Poet's house .^^ Why, 
you might as well kill all the birds in 
the garden and make them up into a 
pie. 

If it please Your Majesty, you need 
not be annoyed. We shan't have to 
pull down the house after all; for the 
moment Sruti-bhushan heard it was to 
be demolished, he decided to take pos- 
session of it himself. 

What, Vizier! That's worse still. 
Why! The Goddess of Music would 
break her harp in pieces against my 
head, if she even heard of such a thing. 
No, that can't be. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 37 

Then, Your Majesty, there was an- 
other thing to be got through. We had 
to dehver over the province of Kan- 
chanpur to the Pundit. 

No, Vizier! What a mess you are 
making. That must go to our Poet. 

To me, King.^ No. My poetry never 
accepts reward. 

Well, well. Let the Pundit have it. 

And, last of all. Sire. I have issued 
orders to the soldiers to disperse the 
crowd of famine-stricken people. 

Vizier, you are doing nothing but 
blunder. The best way to disperse the 
famished people is with food, not force. 

[Guard enters.] 

May it please your Royal Highness. 

What's the matter. Guard? 

May it please your Royal Highness, 
here is Sruti-bhushan, the Pundit, com- 
ing back with his Book of Devotions. 



38 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Oh, stop him, Vizier, stop him. He 
will undo everything. Don't let him 
come upon me unawares like this. In 
a moment of weakness, I may suddenly 
find myself out of my depths in the 
Ocean of Renunciation. Poet! Don't 
give me time for that. Do something. 
Do anything. Have you got anything 
ready to hand.^^ Any play toward.^ 
Any poem.'^ Any masque.^ Any — 

Yes, King. I have got the very 
thing. But whether it is a drama, or 
a poem, or a play, or a masque, I can- 
not say. 

Shall I be able to understand the 
sense of what you have written? 

No, King, what a poet writes is not 
meant to have any sense. 

What then? 

To have the tune itself. 

What do you mean? Is there no 
philosophy in it? 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 39 

No, none at all, thank goodness. 

What does it say, then? 

King, it says "I exist." Don't you 
know the meaning of the first cry of 
the new-born child .^ The child, when 
it is born, hears at once the cries of the 
earth and water and sky, which sur- 
round him, — and they all cry to him, — 
"We exist," and his tiny little heart 
responds, and cries out in its turn, — 
"I exist." — My poetry is like the cry 
of that new-born child. It is a re- 
sponse to the cry of the Universe. 

Is it nothing more than that, Poet.'^ 

No, nothing more. There is life in 
my song, which cries, — "In joy and in 
sorrow, in work and in rest, in life and 
in death, in victory and in defeat, in 
this world and in the next, all hail to 
the 'I exist.'" 

Well, Poet, I can assure you, if your 



40 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

play hasn't got any philosophy in it, it 
won't pass muster in these days. 

That's true, King. The newer peo- 
ple, of this modern age, are more eager 
to amass than to realize. They are, 
in their generation, wiser than the chil- 
dren of light. 

Whom shall we ask, then, for an 
audience.^ Shall we ask the young 
students of our royal school.^ 

No, King, they cut up poetry with 
their logic. They are like the young- 
horned deer trying their new horns on 
the flower beds. 

Whom should I ask, then.^^ 

Ask those whose hair is turning grey. 

What do you mean. Poet? 

The youth of these middle-aged peo- 
ple is a youth of detachment. They 
have just crossed the waters of pleas- 
ure, and are in sight of the land of pure 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 41 

gladness. They don't want to eat fruit, 
but to produce it. 

I, at least, have now reached that 
age of discretion, and ought to be able 
to appreciate your songs. Shall I ask 
the General.^ 

Yes, ask him. 

And the Chinese Ambassador.^ 

Yes, ask him too. 

I hear my father-in-law has come. 

Well, ask him too, but I have my 
doubts about his youthful sons. 

But don't forget his daughter. 

Don't worry about her. She won't 
let herself be forgotten. 

And Sruti-bhushan.^ Shall I ask him.^ 

No, King, no. Decidedly, no. I 
have no grudge against him. Why 
should I inflict this on him.^ 



42 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Very well, Poet. Off with you. 
Make your stage preparations. 

No, King. We are going to act this 
play, without any special preparations. 
Truth looks tawdry when she is over- 
dressed. 

But, Poet, there must be some can- 
vas for a back-ground. 

No. Our only back-ground is the 
mind. On that we shall summon up 
a picture with the magic wand of music, 

Are there any songs in the play.^ 

Yes, King. The door of each act 
will be opened by the key of song. 

What is the subject of the songs .^^ 

The Disrobing of Winter. 

But, Poet, we haven't read about 
that in any Mythology. 

In the world-myth this song come§ 
round in its turn. In the play of the 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 43 

seasons, each year, the mask of the Old 
Man, Winter, is pulled off, and the form 
of Spring is revealed in all its beauty. 
Thus we see that the old is ever new. 

Well, Poet, so much for the songs: 
but what about the remainder? 

Oh, that is all about life. 

Life? What is life? 

This is how it runs, — a band of young 
companions has run off in pursuit of 
one Old Man. They have taken a vow 
to catch him. They enter into a cave; 
they take hold of him; and then — 

Then, what? What did they see? 

Ah. That will be told in its own good 
time. 

But, I haven't understood one thing. 
Your drama and your songs, — have 
they different subjects, or the same? 

The same, King. The play of Spring 



44 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

in nature is the counterpart of the play 
of Youth in our Kves. It is simply from 
the lyrical drama of the World Poet, 
that I have stolen this plot. 

Who, then, are the chief characters? 

One is called the Leader. 

Who is he, Poet.?^ 

He is the guiding impulse in our life. 
Another is Chandra. 

Who is he? 

He who makes life dear to us. 

And who else? 

Then there is Dada, to whom duty 
is the essence of life, not joy. 

Is there anyone else? 

Yes, the blind Minstrel. 

Blind? 

Because he does not see with his 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 45 

eyes, therefore he sees with his whole 
body and mind and soul. 

Who else is there, in your play, 
among the chief actors? 

You are there, King. 

I? 

Yes, you. King. For if you stayed 
out of it, instead of coming into it, 
then the King would begin to abuse 
the Poet and send for Sruti-bhushan 
again. And then there would be no 
hope of salvation for him. For the 
World Poet himself would be defeated. 
And the South Wind of Spring would 
have to retire, without receiving its 
homage. 



ACT I 

The Heralds of Spring are abroad. There 
are songs in the rustling bamboo leaves, 
in birds' nests, and in blossoming 
branches. 

SONG-PRELUDE 

The purple secondary curtain * goes up 
disclosing the elevated rear stage with a 
skyey background of dark blue on 
which appear the horn of the crescent 
moon and the silver points of stars. 
Trees in the foreground with two rope 
swings entwined with garlands of flow- 
ers. Flowers everywhere in profusion. 
On the extreme left the mouth of a dark 
cavern dimly seen. Boys representing 
the 'Bamboo' disclosed, swinging. 

*Note: neither the secondary curtain nor 
the drop is again used during the play. The 
action is continuous, either on the front stage, 
or on the rear stage, the latter being darkened 
when not actually in use. 
46 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 47 
Song of the Bamboo 

South Wind, the Wanderer, come and 

rock me. 
Rouse me into the rapture of new 
leaves, 

1 am the wayside bamboo tree, waiting 

for your breath 
To tingle life into my branches. 

South Wind, the Wanderer, my dwell- 
ing is in the end of the lane. 
I know your wayfaring, and the lan- 
guage of your footsteps. 

Your least touch thrills me out of 

my slumber. 
Your whisper gleans my secrets. 

[Enter a troop of girls, dancing, repre- 
senting birds,] 

Song of the Brno 

The sky pours its light into our hearts. 
We fill the sky with songs in answer. 
We pelt the air with our notes 



48 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

When the air stirs our wings with its 
madness. 

Flame of the Forest, 

All your flower-torches are ablaze; 

You have kissed our songs red with the 
passion of your youth. 

In the spring breeze the mango-blossoms 
launch their messages to the unknown 

And the new leaves dream aloud all 
day. 

Sirish, you have cast your perfume- 
net round our hearts 

Drawing them out in songs. 

[Disclosed among the branches of trees, 
suddenly lighted up, boys represent- 
ing Champak blossoms.] 

Song of the Blossoming Champak 

My shadow dances in your waves, ever- 
flowing river, 

I, the blossoming champak, stand un- 
moved on the bank, with my flower- 
vigils. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 49 

My movement dwells in the stillness of 
my depths 

In the delicious birth of new 
leaves. 
In flood of flowers. 
In unseen urge of new life towards 
the light. 
Its stirring thrills the sky, and the silence 
of the dawn is moved. 



Morning 

[The rear stage is now darkened. On the 
main stage, bright, enter a hand of 
youths whose number may be any- 
thing between three and thirty. They 
sing.] 

The fire of April leaps from forest to 
forest. 
Flashing up in leaves and flowers from 
all nooks and corners. 
The sky is thriftless with colours, 

The air delirious with songs. 
The wind-tost branches of the woodland 
Spread their unrest in our blood. 
The air is filled with bewilderment of 
mirth; 
And the breeze rushes from fiower to 
flower, asking their names, 

[In the following dialogue only the 
names of the principal characters 
are given. Wherever the name is 
50 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 51 

not given the speaker is one or 
other of the Youths.] 

April pulls hard, brother, April pulls 
very hard. 

How do you know that? 

If he didn't, he would never have 
pulled Dada outside his den. 

Well, I declare. Here is Dada, 
our cargo-boat of moral-maxims, towed 
against the current of his own pen and 
ink. 

Chandra 

But you mustn't give April all the 
credit for that. For, I, Chandra, have 
hidden the yellow leaves of his manu- 
script book among the young buds of 
the pial forest, and Dada is out looking 
for it. 

The manuscript book banished! 
What a good riddance! 



52 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

We ought to strip oflF Dada's grey 
philosopher's cloak also. 

Chandra 

Yes, the very dust of the earth is 
tingling with youth, and yet there's 
not a single touch of Spring in the whole 
of Dada's body. 

Dada 

Oh, do stop this fooling. What a 
nuisance you are making of yourselves ! 
We aren't children any longer. 

Chandra 

Dada, the age of this earth is scarcely 
less than yours and yet it is not 
ashamed to look fresh. 

Dada, you are always struggling 
with those quatrains of yours, full of 
advice that is as old as death, while 
the earth and the water are ever striv- 
ing to be new. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 53 

Dada, how in the world can you go 
on writing verses Hke that, sitting in 
your den? 

Dada 

Well, you see, I don't cultivate poe- 
try, as an amateur gardener cultivates 
flowers. My poems have substance and 
weight in them. 

Yes, they are like the turnips, which 
cling to the ground. 

Dada 
Well, then, listen to me, — 

How awful! Here's Dada going to 
run amuck with his quatrains. 

Oh dear. Oh dear! The quatrains 
are let loose. There's no holding them 
in. 

To all passers by I give notice, that 
Dada's quatrains have gone mad, and 
are running amuck. 



54 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Chandra 

Dada ! Don't take any notice of their 
fun. Go on with your reading. If no 
one else can survive it, I think I can. 
I am not a coward Hke these fellows. 

Come on, then, Dada. We won't be 
cowards. We will keep our ground, 
and not yield an inch, but only listen. 

We will receive the spear-thrusts of 
the quatrains on our breast, not on 
our back. 

But for pity's sake, Dada, give us 
only one, — not more. 

Dada 
Very well. Now listen: 

If bamboos were made only into flutes, 
They would droop and die with very 

shame, 
They hold their heads high in the sky. 
Because they are variously useful. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 55 

Please, gentlemen, don't laugh. Have 
patience while I explain. The meaning 
is — 

The meaning .f^ 

What.^ Must the infantry charge of 
meaning follow the cannonading of 
your quatrains, to complete the rout.^ 

Dada 

Just one word to make you under- 
stand. It means, that if the bamboos 
were no better than those noisy instru- 
ments, — 

No, Dada, we must not understand. 

I defy you to make us understand. 

Dada, if you use force to make us 
understand, we shall use force to force 
ourselves not to understand. 

Dada 

The gist of the quatrain is this, that 
if we do no good to the world, then, — 



56 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Then the world will be very greatly 
relieved. 

Dada 

There is another verse, that makes it 
clearer : 

There are numerous stars in the midnight 

sky. 
Which hang in the air for no purpose; 
If they would only come down to earth. 
For the street lighting they might be useful. 

I see we must make clearer our 
meaning. Catch him. Let's raise him 
up, shoulder high, and take him back 
to his den. 

Dada 

Why are you so excited to-day? 
Have you any particular business to do.'^ 

Yes, we have very urgent business, — 
very urgent indeed. 

Dada 
What is your business about .^ 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 57 

We are out to seek a play for our 
Spring festival. 

Dada 
Play! Day and night, play! 

[They sing.] 
We are free, my friends , from the fear of 
work. 
For we know that work is play, — the 
play of life. 
It is Play, to fight and toss, between life 

and death; 
It is Play that flashes in the laughter of 
light in the infinite hearts- 
It roars in the wind, and surges in the 
sea. 

Oh, here comes our Leader. Broth- 
ers, — our Leader, our Leader. 

Leader 
Hallo! What a noise you make! 

Was it that which made you come 
out of doors .^ 



58 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Leader 

Yes. 

Well, we did it for that very purpose. 

Leader 

You don't want me to remain in- 
doors.^ 

Why remain indoors.'^ This outer 
world has been made with a lavish 
expenditure of sun and moon and stars. 
Let us enjoy it, and then we can save 
God's face for indulging in such ex- 
travagance. 

Leader 

What were you discussing.'^ 

This: 

[They sing.] 

Play blooms in flower and ripens in 

fruit 
In the sunshine of eternal youth. 
Play bursts up in the blood-red fire, and 

licks into ashes the decaying and 

the dead. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 59 

Our Dada's objection was about this 
play. 

Dada 
Shall I tell you the reason why? 

Yes, Dada, you may tell us, but we 
shan't promise to listen. 

Dada 
Here it is : 

Time is the capital of work. 

And Play is its defalcation. 

Play rifles the house, and then wastes its 
spoil, 

Therefore the wise call it worse than use- 
less, 

Chandra 

But surely, Dada, you are talking 
nonsense. Time itself is Play. Its only 
object is Pas-time. 

Dada 
Then what is Work? 



60 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Chandra 
Work is the dust raised by the pass- 
ing of Time. 

Dada 
Leader, you must give us your an- 
swers. 

Leader 
No. I never give answers. I lead 
on from one question to another. That 
is my leadership. 

Dada 
Everything else has its limits, but 
your childishness is absolutely un- 
bounded. 

Do you know the reason .^^ It is be- 
cause we are really nothing but chil- 
dren. And everything else has its 
limitations except the child. 

Dada 
Won't you ever attain Age? 
No, we shall never attain Age. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 61 

We shall die old, but never attain 
Age. 

Chandra 

When we meet Age, we shall shave 
his head, and put him on a donkey, and 
send him across the river. 

Oh, you can save yourself the trouble 
of shaving his head, for Age is bald. 

[They sing.] 
Our hair shall never turn grey. 

Never, 
There is no blank in this world for us^ no 

break in our road. 
It may be an illusion that we follow. 
But it shall never play us false, 
Never. 

[The Leader sings.] 

Our hair shall never turn grey. 

Never. 
We will never doubt the world and shut 
our eyes to ponder. 

Never, 



62 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

We will not grope in the maze of our mind. 
We flow with the flood of thing s^ from the 

mountain to the sea. 
We will never he lost in the desert sand. 
Never, 

We can tell, by his looks, that Dada 
will some day go to that Old Man, to 
receive his lessons. 

Leader 
Which Old Man? 

The Old Man of the line of Adam. 
He dwells in a cave, and never thinks 
of dying. 

Leader 

Where did you learn about him.^ 

Oh, everyone talks about him. And 
it is in the books also. 

Leader 
What does he look like? 

Some say he is white, like the skull 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 63 

of a dead man. And some say he is 
dark, like the socket of a skeleton's eye. 

But haven't you heard any news of 
him, Leader .f^ 

Leader 
I don't believe in him at all. 

Well, that goes entirely against cur- 
rent opinion. That Old Man is more 
existent than anything else. He lives 
within the ribs of creation. 

According to our Pundit, it is we who 
have no existence. You can't be cer- 
tain whether we are, or are not. 

Chandra 

We.f^ Oh, we are too brand new alto- 
gether. We haven't yet got our cre- 
dentials to prove that we exist. 

Leader 
Have you really gone and opened 
communication with the Pundits .^^ 



64 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Why? What harm is there in that. 
Leader? 

Leader 

You will become pale, like the white 
mist in autumn. Even the least colour 
of blood will disappear from your mind. 
I have a suggestion. T 

What, Leader? What? 

Leader 
You were looking out for a play? 

Yes, yes, we got quite frantic about 
it. 

We thought it over so vigorously, 
that people had to run to the King's 
court to lodge a complaint. 

Leader 

Well, I can suggest a play which will 
be new. 

What.?— What?— Tell us. ^ 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 65 

Leader 
Go and capture the Old Man. 

That is new, no doubt, but we very 
much doubt if it's a play. 

Leader 
I am sure you won't be able to do it. 
Not do it.? We shall. 

Leader 
No, never. 

Well then, suppose we do capture 
him, what will you give us.? 

Leader 
I shall accept you as my preceptor. 
Preceptor! You want to make us 
grey, and cold, and old, before our 
time. 

Leader 
Then, what do you want me to do.? 

If we capture him, then we shall take 
away your leadership. 



66 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Leader 
That will be a great relief to me. 
You have made all my bones out of 
joint already. Very well, then it's all 
settled .f^ 

Yes, settled. We shall bring him to 
you by the next full moon of Spring. 

But what are we going to do with 
him.f^ 

Leader 
You shall let him join in your Spring 
Festival. 

Oh, no, that will be outrageous. 
Then the mango flowers will run to 
seed at once. 

And all the cuckoos will become owls. 

And the bees will go about reciting 
Sanskrit verses, making the air hum 
with m's and n's. 

Leader 
And your skull will be so topheavy 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 67 

with prudence, that it will be difficult 
for you to keep on your feet. 

How awful ! 

Leader 

And you will have rheumatics in all 
your joints. 

How awful! 

Leader 

And you will become your own elder 
brothers, pulling your own ears to set 
yourselves right. 

How awful! 

Leader 
And— 

No more *'ands." We are ready to 
surrender. 

We will abandon our game of cap- 
turing the Old Man. 

We will put it off till the cold weather. 



68 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

In this Springtime, your company will 
be enough for us. 

Leader 
Ah, I see ! You have already got the 
chill of the Old Man in your bones. 

Why.^ What are the symptoms.^ 

Leader 
You have no enthusiasm. You back 
out at the very start. Why don't you 
make a trial .^ 

Very well. Agreed. Come on. 

Let us go after the Old Man. We 
will pluck him out, like a grey hair, 
wherever we find him. 

Leader 
But the Old Man is an adept in the 
business of plucking out. His best 
weapon is the hoe. 

You needn't try to frighten us like 
that. When we are out for adventure. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 69 

we must leave behind all fears, all quat- 
rains, all Pundits, and all Scriptures. 

[They sing,] 

We are out on our way 
And we fear not the Robber, the Old 
Man. 
Our path is straight, it is broad. 

Our burden is light, for our pocket is 
bare. 
Who can rob us of our folly? 
For us there is no rest, nor ease, nor 
praise, nor success. 
We dance in the measure of fortune's rise 
and fall. 
We play our game, or win or lose. 
And we fear not the Robber, 



ACT II 

SONG-PRELUDE 

[Springes Heralds try to rob Winter of 
his outfit of age.] 

[Rear stage lighted up, disclosing Old 
Winter teased by the boys and girls 
representing Springes Heralds.] 

Song of the Heralds of Spring 

We seek our playmates, 

Waking them up from all corners be- 
fore it is morning. 
We call them in bird songs. 

Beckon them in nodding branches. 
We spread our spell for them in the 

splendour of clouds. 
We laugh at solemn Death 
Till he joins in our laughter. 
70 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 71 

We tear open Time's purse. 

Taking back his plunder from him. 

You shall lose your heart to us, Winter, 
It will gleam in the trembling leaves 
And break into flowers. 

Song of Winter 

Leave me, let me go. 
I sail for the bleak North, for the peace 
of the frozen shore. 
Your laughter is untimely, my friends. 
You turn my farewell tunes into the wel- 
come song of the Newcomer, 
And all things draw me back again 
into the dancing ring of their hearts. 

Song of the Heralds of Spring 

Lifers spies are we, lurking in ambush 
everywhere. 
We wait to rob you of your last savings 
of withered hours to scatter them in 
the wayward winds. 



72 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

We shall bind you in flower chains 
where Spring keeps his captives, 

For we know you carry your jewels of 
youth hidden in your grey rags. 



Noon 

[The rear stage is darkened. The band of 
Youths enters on the main stage. No 
actual change in the scenery is neces- 
sary — this being left to the imagination 
of the audience.] 

Ferryman. Ferryman. Open your 
door. 

Ferryman 

What do you want.^ 

We want the Old Man. 

Ferryman 

Which old man.? 

Not which old man. We want the 
Old Man. 

Ferryman 
Who is he.? 

The true and original Old Man. 
73 



74 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Ferryman 

Oh. I understand. What do you 
want him for? 

For our Spring Festival. 

Ferryman 

For your Spring Festival.^ Are you 
become mad.'^ 

Not a sudden becoming. We have 
been Hke this from the beginning. 

And we shall go on like this to the 
end. 

[They sing.] 

The Piper pipes in the centre, hidden 

from sight. 
And we become frantic, we dance. 
The March wind, seized with frenzy. 
Runs and reels, and sways with noisy 

branches. 
The sun and stars are drawn in the whirl 

of rapture. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 75 

Now, Ferryman, give us news of the 
Old Man. 

You ply your boat from one landing 
stage to another. Surely you know 
where, — 

Ferryman 

My business is limited only to the 
path. But whose path it is, and what 
it means, I have no occasion to enquire. 
For my goal is the landing stage, not 
the house. 

Very well. Let us go, let us try all 
the ways. 

[They sing,] 

The Piper pipes in the centre, hidden 
from sight. 
Ah, the turbulent tune, to whose time 
the oceans dance. 

And dance our heaving hearts. 
Fling away all burdens and cares, brother. 

Do not be doubtful of your path. 
For the path wakes up of itself 

Under the dancing steps of freedom. 



76 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Ferryman 

There comes the Watchman. Ask 
him. I know about the way; but he 
knows about the wayfarers. 

Watchman 

Who are you? 

We are just what you see. That's 
our only description. 

Watchman 
But what do you want.^^ 
We want the Old Man. 

Watchman 
Which old man? 
That eternal Old Man. 

Watchman 

How absurd ! While you are seeking 
him, he is after you. 

Why? 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 77 

Watchman 

He is fond of warming his cold blood 
with the wine of hot youth. 

We'll give him a warm enough recep- 
tion. All we want is to see him. Have 
you seen him? 

Watchman 

My watch is at night. I see my peo- 
ple, but don't know their features. 
But, look here, everyone knows that 
he is the great kidnapper; and you 
want to kidnap him! It's midsummer 
madness. 

The secret is out. It doesn't take 
long to discover that we are mad. 

Watchman 

I am the Watchman. The people I 
see passing along the road are all very 
much alike. Therefore, when I see 
anything queer, it always strikes me. 



78 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Just listen to him. All the respect- 
able people of our neighbourhood say 
just the same thing, — that we are queer. 

Yes, we're queer. There's no mis- 
take about that. 

Watchman 
But all this is utter childishness. 

Do you hear that.^ It's exactly what 
our Dada says. 

We have been going on with our 
childishness through un-remembered 
ages. 

And now we have become confirmed 
children. 

And we have a leader, who is a per- 
fect veteran in childhood. He rushes 
along so recklessly, that he drops off 
his age at every step he runs. 

Watchman 
And who are you? 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 79 

We are butterflies, freed from the 
cocoon of Age. 

Watchman 
[Aside.] Mad. Raving mad. 

Ferryman 
Then what will you all do now.^ 

Chandra 
We shall go, — 

Watchman 
Where? 

Chandra 

That we haven't decided. 

Watchman 

You have decided to go, but not 
where to go.^ 

Chandra 

Yes, that will be settled as we go 
along. 



80 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Watchman 
What does that mean? 

Chandra 
It means this song. 

[They sing.] 

We move and move without rest^ 
We move while the wanderers' stars shine 
in the sky and fade. 
We play the tune of the road 
While our limbs scatter away the laughter 
of movement^ 
And our many coloured mantle of youth 
flutters about in the air. 

Watchman 

Is it your custom to answer questions 
by songs? 

Chandra 

Yes, otherwise the answer becomes 
too unintelHgible. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 81 

Watchman 

Then you think your songs intel- 
Hgible? 

Chandra 

Yes, quite, because they contain 
music. 

[They sing,] 

We move and move without rest. 

World, the Rover, loves his comrades 
of the road. 
His call comes across the sky. 

The seasons lead the way, strewing 
the path with flowers. 

Watchman 

No ordinary being ever breaks out 
singing, Hke this, in the middle of 
talking. 

Chandra 

Again we are found out. We are no 
ordinary beings. 



82 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Watchman 
Have you got no work to do? 

Chandra 
No, we are on a holiday. 

Watchman 
Why? 

Chandra 

Lest our time should all be wasted. 

Watchman 
I don't quite understand you. 

Chandra 

Then we shall be obliged to sing 
again. 

Watchman 

No, no. There's no need to do that. 
I don't hope to understand you any 
better, even if you do sing. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 83 

Chandra 

Everybody has given up the hope of 
understanding us. 

Watchman 

But how can things get on with you, 
if you behave like this? 

Chandra 

Oh, there's no need for things to get 
on with us, so long as we ourselves get 
on. 

Watchman 

Mad ! Quite mad ! Raving mad ! 

Chandra 
Why, here comes our Dada. 
Dada, what made you lag behind? 

Chandra 

Don't you know? We are free as the 
wind, because we have no substance 



84 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

in us. But Dada is like the rain-cloud 
of August. He must stop, every now 
and then, to unburden himself. 

Dada 
Who are you.^ 

Ferryman 
T am the Ferryman. 

Dada 
And who are you.^^ 

Watchman 
I am the Watchman. 

Dada 

I am delighted to see you. I want 
to read you something that I have 
written. It contains nothing frivo- 
lous, but only the most important 
lessons. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 85 

Ferryman 
Very good. Let us have it then. 

Watchman 

Our master used to tell us, that there 
are plenty of men to say good things, 
but very few to listen. That requires 
strength of mind. Now, go on. Sir, 
go on. 

Dada 

I saw, in the street, one of the king's 
officers dragging along a merchant. 
The King had made up a false charge, in 
order to get his money. This gave me 
an inspiration. You must know, that 
I never write a single line which is not 
inspired by some actual fact. You can 
put my verses to the test in the open 
streets and markets, — 

Ferryman 

Please, Sir, do let us hear what you 
have written. 



86 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Dada 
The sugar-cane filling itself with juice 
Is chewed and sucked dry by all beggars. 
foolish men, take your lesson from this; 
Those trees are saved, which are fruitful. 

You will understand that the sugar- 
cane gets into trouble, simply because 
it tries to keep its juice. But nobody 
is so foolish as to kill the tree that 
freely gives fruit. 

Watchman 
What splendid writing, Ferryman. 

Ferryman 
Yes, Watchman, it contains great 
lessons for us. 

Watchman 
It gives me food for thought. If 
only I had here our neighbour, the 
Scribe! I should like to take this down. 
Do send round to tell the people of 
the place to assemble. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 87 

Chandra 
But, Ferryman, you promised to 
come out with us. Yet, if once Dada 
begins to quote his quatrains, there 
will be, — 

Ferryman 

Go along with you. None of your 
madness here. We are fortunate now 
in having met our master. Let us 
improve the occasion with good words. 
We are all of us getting old. Who 
knows when we shall die.^^ 

All the more reason why you should 
cultivate our company. 

Chandra 
You can always find another Dada. 
But when once we are dead, God will 
never repeat the blunder of another 
absurdity like us again. 

[Enter Oilman,] 
Oilman 
Ho ! Watchman. 



88 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Watchman 
Who is there? Is that the Oilman? 

Oilman 

The child I was bringing up was 
kidnapped last night. 

Watchman 
By whom? 

Oilman 
By the Old Man. 

Youths 

[Together.] Old Man? You don't 
mean it. Old Man? 

Oilman 

Yes, Sirs, the Old Man; what makes 
you so glad? 

Oh, that's a bad habit of ours. We 
become glad for no reason whatever. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 89 

Watchman 
[Aside.] Mad! Raving mad! 

Have you seen the Old Man? 

Oilman 

I think I saw him in the distance last 
night. 

First Youth 
What did he look like? 

Oilman 

Black. More black than our brother 
here, the Watchman. Black as night, 
with two eyes on his breast shining 
like two glow-worms. 

That won't suit us. That would be 
awkward for our Spring Festival. 

Chandra 

We shall have to change our date 
from the full moon to the dark moon. 
For the dark moon has no end of eyes 
on her breast. 



90 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Watchman 

But I warn you, my friends, you are 
not doing wisely. 

No, we are not. 

We are found out again. We never 
do anything wisely. It is contrary to 
our habit. 

Watchman 
Do you take this to be a joke? I 
warn you, my friends, it is dangerous. 

Dangerous .^^ That's the best joke 
of all. 

[They sing.] 

We are neither too good, nor wise. 

That is all the merit we have. 
Our calumny spreads from land to land, 

And danger dogs our steps. 
We take great care to forget what is 
taught us. 
We say things different from the book. 
Bringing upon us trouble, 
And rebuke from the learned. 



/ 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 91 

Watchman 

Ah, Sir, you spoke about some 
Leader. Where is he? He could have 
kept you in order, if he were with you. 

He never stays with us, lest he should 
have to keep us in order. 

He simply launches us on our way, 
and then slips off. 

Watchman 
That's a poor idea of leadership. 

- Chandra 

He is never concerned about his 
leadership. That is why we recognize 
him as our Leader. 

Watchman 
Then he has got a very easy task. 

Chandra 
It is no easy task to lead men. But 
it is easy enough to drive them. 



92 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

[They sing.] 

We are not too good, nor wise. 

That is all the merit we have. 
In a luckless moment we were born. 
When the star of wisdom was the 
dimmest. 
We can hope for no profit from our ad- 
ventures. 

We move on, because we must, 

Dada, come on. Let us go. 

Watchman 

No, no, Sir. Don't you get yourself 
into mischief in their company. 

Ferryman 
You read your verses. Sir, to us. 
Our neighbours will be here soon. 
They will be greatly profited. 

Dada 

No. I'm not going to move a step 
from here. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 93 

Then let us move. The men in the 
street can't bear us. 

That's because we rattle them too 
much. 

You hear the hum of human bees, 
they smell the honey of Dada's quat- 
rains. 

Youths 
[Together,] They come. They come. 

[Enter Village folk.] 

Villager 

y Is it true that there is going to be a 
^ reading .f^ 

Who are you.^ Are you going to 
read? 

No. We commit all kinds of atroci- 
ties, but not that. This one merit will 
bring us salvation. 



94 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Villager 

What do they say? They seem to be 
talking in riddles. 

Chandra 

We only say things which we per- 
fectly understand ourselves, and they 
are riddles to you. Dada repeats to 
you things which you understand per- 
fectly and these sound to you the very 
essence of wisdom. 

[Boy enters.] 

Boy 

I couldn't catch him. 

Whom.? 

Boy 

The Old Man, whom you are seek- 
ing. 

Have you seen him.^^ 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 95 

B(yy 

Yes, I thought I saw him going by 
in a car. 

Where? In what direction? 

Boy 

I couldn't make out exactly. The 
dust raised by his wheels is still whirl- 
ing in the air. 

Then let us go. 

He has filled the sky with dead 
leaves. 

[They go out] 

Watchman 

They are mad ! Quite mad ! Raving 
mad! 



ACT III 

SONG-PRELUDE 

[Winter is being unmasked, — his hidden 
youth about to be disclosed,] 

[The rear stage lighted up, disclosing 
Winter and the Heralds of Spring,] 

Song of the Heralds of Spring 

How grave he looks, how laughably 
old, 

How solemnly quiet among death prepara- 
tions! 

Come, friends, help him to find himself 
before he reaches home. 

Change his pilgrim's robe into the dress 
of the singing youth 

Snatch away his bag of dead things 

And confound his calculations. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 97 

[Another group sings.] 

The time comes when the world shall know 
that you're not banished in your own 
shadows; 
Your heart shall burst in torrents 

Out of the clasp of the ice; 
And your North wind turn its face 

Against the haunts of the flitting phan- 
toms. 
There sounds the magician's drum, 
And the sun waits with laughter in his 
glance 
To see your grey turn into green. 



Evening 

[The rear stage is darkened; the light on 
the main stage dimmed to the greyness 
of dark,} 

Band of Youths 

They all cry, "There, There," and 
when we look for it, we find nothing 
but dust and dry leaves. 

I thought I had a glimpse of the flag, 
on his car, through the cloud. 

It is difficult to follow his track. Now 
it seems East: now it seems West. 

And so we are tired, chasing shadows 
all day long. And the day has been lost. 

I tell you the truth. Fear comes 
more and more into my mind, as the 
day passes. 

We have made a mistake. The 
morning light whispered in our ears, — 
98 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 99 

"Bravo, march on" — ^And now, the 
evening light is mocking us for that. 

I am afraid we have been deceived. 
I am beginning to feel greater respect 
for Dada's quatrains than before. We 
shall all be soon sitting down on the 
ground composing quatrains. 

And, then, the whole neighbourhood 
will come, swarming round us. And 
they will get such immense benefit 
from our wisdom, that they will never 
leave us. 

And we shall settle down like a great 
big boulder, cold and immovable. 

And they will cling to us, as we sit 
there, like a thick fog. 

What would our Leader think of us, 
I wonder, if he could hear us now.^ 

__I am sure it is our Leader, who has 
led us astray. He makes us toil for 
nothing, while he himself remains idle. 



100 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Let us go back and fight with him. 
We will tell him, that we won't move 
a step further, but sit with our legs 
tucked under us. These legs are 
wretched vagabonds. They are always 
trudging the road. 

We will keep our hands fast behind 
our backs. 

There is no mischief in the back; all 
the trouble is in the front. 

Of all our limbs, the back is the most 
truthful. It says to us, — "Lie down." 

When we are young, that braggart 
breast is a great swell; but, in the end, 
we can only rely on our back. 

The little stream, that flows past our 
village, comes to my mind. That 
morning, we thought that it said to 
us , — ' ' Forward ! Forward ! " But what 
it really said was, — "False! False!" 
The world is all false. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 101 

Our Pundit used to tell us that. 

We shall go straight to the Pundit, 
when we get back. 

We shall never stir one step outside 
the limit of the Pundits' Scriptures. 

What a mistake we made. We 
thought that moving itself was some- 
thing heroic. 

But really not to move, — that is 
heroic: because it is defying the whole 
moving world. 

Brave rebels that we are, we shall 
not move. We shall have the audacity 
to sit still, and never move an inch. 

"Life and youth are fleeting," the 
Scripture says. Let life and youth go 
to the dogs, we shall not move. 

"Our minds and wealth are fleeting," 
adds the Scripture — "Give them up 
and sit still," — say we. 



102 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Let us go back to the point, from 
which we started. 

But that would be to move. 

What then.?^ 

There sit down, where we have come 
to. 

And let us imagine, that there we had 
been, before we ever came there. 

Yes, yes, that will keep our minds 
still. If we know that we have come 
from somewhere else, then the mind 
longs for that somewhere else. 

That land of somewhere else is a very 
dangerous place. 

There the ground moves, and also 
the roads. But as for us, — 

[They sing.] 
We cling to our seats and never stir. 
We allow our flowers to fade in peace. 
And avoid the trouble of bearing 
fruit. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 103 

Let the starlights hlazen their eternal folly 

We quench our flames. 
Let the forest rustle and the ocean roar. 

We sit mute. 
Let the call of the flood-tide come from 
the sea. 

We remain stilL 

Do you hear that laughter? 

Yes, yes, it is laughter. 

What a relief ! We have never heard 
that sound for an age. 

We had been choking, for want of the 
breath of laughter. 

This laughter comes to us like the 
April rain. 

Whose is it? 

Cannot you guess? It is our Chan- 
dra. 

What a marvellous gift of laughter 
he has ! It is like a waterfall. It dashes 
all the black stones out of the path. 



104 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

It is like sunlight. It cuts the mist 
to pieces with its sword. 

Now all danger of quatrain fever is 
over. Let us get up. 

From this moment, there will be 
nothing but work for us. As the Scrip- 
ture says, — "Everything in this world 
is fleeting; and he only lives, who does 
his duty and achieves fame." 

Why are you quoting that.f^ Are you 
still suffering from the quatrain fever .^ 

What do you mean by fame.^^ Does 
the river take any heed of its foam.'^ 
Fame is that foam on life's stream. 

[Enter Chandra with a blind minstrel.] 

Well, Chandra, what makes you so 
glad? 

Chandra 

I have got the track of the Old Man. 

From whom.? 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 105 

Chandra 
From this old Minstrel. 
He seems to be blind. 

Chandra 
Yes, that is why he has not got to 
seek the road. 

What do you say? Shall you be able 
to lead us right .'^ 

Minstrel 
Yes. 

But how? 

Minstrel 
Because I can hear the footsteps. 
We also have ears, but, — 

Minstrel 
I hear with my whole being. 

Chandra 
They all started up with fear, when 
I asked about the Old Man, Only this 



106 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Minstrel seemed to have no fear. I 
suppose because he cannot see, he is 
not afraid. 

Minstrel 

Do you know why I have no fear? 
When the sun of my hfe set, and I be- 
came bHnd, the dark night revealed all 
its lights, and, from that day forward, 
I have been no more afraid of the 
dark. 

Then let us go. The evening star 
is up. 

Minstrel 

Let me sing, and walk on as I sing, 
and you follow me. I cannot find my 
way, if I do not sing. 

What do you mean.^ 

Minstrel 
My songs precede, I follow. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 107 

[He sings,] 

Gently, my friend, gently walk to your 
silent chamber, 
I know not the way, I have not the light, 
Dark is my life and my world. 
I have only the sound of your steps 
To guide me in this wilderness. 

Gently, my friend, gently walk along the 
dark shore. 
Let the hint of the way come in whisper. 
Through the night, in the April breeze, 
I have only the scent of your garland 
To guide me in this wilderness. 



ACT IV 

SONG-PRELUDE 

[There enter a troupe of young things^ 
and they introduce themselves in a 
song as follows:] 

The Song of Returning Youth 

Again and again we say ''Good hye,'^ 

To come hack again and again, 
0, who are you? 
I am the flower vakul. 
And who are you? 
I am the flower parul. 
And who are these? 

We are mango blossoms landed on the 
shore of light. 
We laugh and take leave when the time 
beckons us. 
We rush into the arms of the ever-return- 
ing, 

108 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 109 

But who are you? 

I am the flower shimul. 

And who are you? 

I am the kamini bunchy 
And who are these? 
We are the jostling crowd of new leaves, 

[Winter is revealed as Spring and answers 
to the questions put by the chorus of 
young things:] 

The Song of Burdens-dropped 

Do you own defeat at the hand of youth? 

Yes, 
Have you met at last the ageless Old, who 
ever grows new? 
Yes. 
Have you come out of the walls that 
crumble and bury those whom they 
shelter? 
Yes. 

[Another group sings.] 

Do you own defeat at the hands of life? 
Yes. 



110 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Have you passed through death to stand 
at last face to face with the Death- 
less? 
Yes. 
Have you dealt the blow to the demon 
dust, that swallows your city Im- 
mortal? 
Yes, 

[Spring's flowers surround him and sing,] 

The Song of Fresh Beauty 

We waited by the wayside counting mo- 
ments. 
Till you appeared in the April morn- 
ing. 
You come as a soldier-boy winning life 
at death's gate, — 
0, the wonder of it. 
We listen amazed at the music of your 
young voice. 
Your mantle is blown in the wind 
Like the fragrance of the Spring. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 111 

The white spray of malati flowers in 
your hair 
Shines like star-clusters. 
A fire hums through the veil of your 
smile, — 
0, the wonder of it 
And who knows where your arrows are 
hidden, which smite death? 



Night 

[The rear stage is darkened; and the light 
on the main stage dimmed to the heavy 
purple blackness of mourning.] 

[Enter the Band of Youths.] 

Chandra has gone away again, leav- 
ing us behind. 

It is difficult to keep him still. 

We get our rest by sitting down, but 
he gets his by walking on. 

He has gone across the river with the 
blind minstrel, in whose depth of blind- 
ness Chandra is seeking the invisible 
light. 

That is why our Leader calls him the 
Diver. 

Our life becomes utterly empty, when 
Chandra is away. 

112 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 113 

Do you feel as though something was 
in the air? 

The sky seems to be looking into our 
face, like a friend bidding farewell. 

This little stream of water is trickling 
through the casuarina grove. It seems 
like the tears of midnight. 

We have never gazed upon the earth 
before with such intentness. 

When we run forward at full speed, 
our eyes keep gazing in front of us, and 
we see nothing on either side of us. 

If things did not move on and van- 
ish, we should see no beauty anywhere. 

If youth had only the heat of move- 
ment, it would get parched and with- 
ered. But there is ever the hidden tear, 
which keeps it fresh. 

The cry of the world is not only I 
have, but also I give. In the first dawn- 
ing light of creation *'I have" was 



114 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

wedded to "I give." If this bond of 
union were to snap, then everything 
would go to ruin. 

I don't know where that bUnd Min- 
strel has landed us at last. 

It seems as though these stars in the 
sky above us are the gazing of countless 
eyes we met in all forgotten ages. It 
seems as if, through the flowers, there 
came the whisper of those we have for- 
gotten, saying Remember us. 

Our hearts will break, if we do not 
sing. 

[They sing.] 

Did you leave behind you your love, my 
heart; 
And miss peace through all your days? 
And is the path you followed lost and 
forgotten, 
Making your return hopeless? 
I go roaming listening to brooks' babble. 
To the rustle of leaves. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 115 

And it seems to me that I shall find the 
way. 
That reaches the land of lost love 
Beyond the evening stars. 

What a strange tune is this, that 
comes out of the music of Spring. 

It seems Hke the tune of yellow 
leaves. 

Spring has stored up its tears in 
secret for us all this while. 

It was afraid we should not under- 
stand it, because we were so youthful. 

It wanted to beguile us with smiles. 

But we shall steep our hearts to- 
night in the sadness of the other 
shore. 

Ah, the dear earth! The beautiful 
earth! She wants all that we have, — 
the touch of our hands, the song of our 
hearts. 



116 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

She wants to draw out from us all 
that is within, hidden even from our- 
selves. 

This is her sorrow, that she finds out 
some things, only to know that she has 
not found all. She loses, before she 
attains. 

Ah, the dear earth! We shall never 
deceive you. 

[They sing.] 

I shall crown you with my garland, be- 
fore I take leave. 
You ever spoke to me in all my joys and 
sorrows. 
And now, at the end of the day, my own 

heart will break in speech. 
Words came to me, but not the tune. 
And the song that I never sang to 
you 
Remains hidden behind my tears. 

Brother, did you notice that some- 
one seemed to have passed by? 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 117 

The only thing you feel is this pass- 
ing by. 

I felt the touch of the mantle of some 
wayfarer. 

We came out, to capture somebody, 
but now we feel the longing to be cap- 
tured ourselves. 

Ah, here comes the Minstrel. Where 
have you brought us.^ The breath of 
the wayfaring world touches us here, — 
the breath of the starry sky. 

We came seeking a new form of play. 
But now we have forgotten what play 
it was. 

We wanted to catch the Old Man. 

And everybody said that he was 
terrifying, a bodiless head, a gaping 
mouth, a dragon eager to swallow the 
moon of the youth of the world. But 
now we are no longer afraid. The 
flowers go, the leaves go, the waves in 
the river go, and we shall also follow 



118 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

them. Ah, blind Minstrel, strike your 
lute and sing to us. Who knows, what 
is the hour of the night .^ 

[The Minstrel sings,] 

Let me give my all to him, before I am 
asked. 
Whom the world offers its all. 
When I came to him for my gifts, I was 
not afraid; 
And I will not fear, when I come to him 
to give up what I have. 
The morning accepts his gold with 
songs 
The evening pays him back the debt of 
gold and is glad. 
The joy of the blooming flower comes to 

fruit with shedding of its leaves. 
Hasten, my heart, and spend yourself in 
love. 
Before the day is done. 

Minstrel, why is Chandra still ab- 
sent? 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 119 

Minstrel 
Don't you know that he has gone? 
Gone? — Where? 

Minstrel 
He said, I shall go and conquer him. 

Whom? 

Minstrel 

The One who is feared by all. He 
said, " Why else am I young? " 

Ah, that was fine. — Dada goes to 
read his quatrains to the village people, 
and Chandra has disappeared, — for 
what purpose nobody knows. 

Minstrel 

He said, "Men have always been 
fighting for a cause. It is the shock of 
that, which ruffles the breeze of this 
Spring." 

The shock? 



120 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Minstrel 

Yes, the message that man's fight is 
not yet over. 

Is this the message of Spring? 

Minstrel 

Yes. Those, who have been made 
immortal by death, have sent their 
message in these fresh leaves of Spring. 
It said, — "We never doubted the way. 
We never counted the cost: we rushed 
out : we blossomed. If we had sat down 
to debate, then where would be the 
Spring.^" 

Has that made Chandra mad.? 

Minstrel 
He said, — 

[The Minstrel sings.] 

The Spring flowers have woven my 
wreath of victory. 
The South wind breathes its breath of 
fire in my blood. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 121 

The voice of the house-corner wails in 
vain from behind. 
Death stands before me, offering its 
crown. 
The tempest of youth sweeps the sky-harp 
with its fingers; 

My heart dances in its wild 
rhythm. 
Gathering and storing are not for me, 

I spend and scatter. 
And prudence and comfort bid me adieu 
in despair. 

But where has he gone to? 

Minstrel 

He said, — ''I cannot keep waiting by 
the wayside any longer. I must go and 
meet him, and conquer him." 

But which way did he take.^ 

Minstrel 
He has entered the cave. 



im THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

How is that? It is so fearfully dark. 
Did he, without making any enquiries — 

Minstrel 

Yes he went in to make enquiries 
himself. 

When will he come back? 

I don't believe he will ever come 
back. 

But if Chandra leaves us, then life is 
not worth living. 

What shall we say to our Leader? 

The Leader also will leave us. 

Didn't he leave any message for us 
before he disappeared? 

Minstrel 

He said, — "Wait for me. I shall 
return." 

Return? How are we to know it? 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 123 

Minstrel 

He said, — "I will conquer, and then 
come back again." 

Then we shall wait for him all night. 

But, Minstrel, where have we got to 
wait for him.'^ 

Minstrel 

Before that cave, from whence the 
stream of water comes flowing out. 

Which way did he go to get there .^^ 

The darkness there is like a dark 
sword. 

Minstrel 

He followed the sound of the night- 
bird's wings. 

Why did you not go with him.^ 

Minstrel 
He left me behind, to give you hope. 

When did he go.^ 



124 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Minstrel 
In the first hour of the watch. 

Now the third hour has passed, I 
think. The air is chilly. 

I dreamt that three women, with 
their hair hanging loose, — 

Oh, leave off your dream-women. I 
am sick of your dreams. 

Everything appears darkly ominous. 
I didn't notice before the hooting of 
the owl. But now, — 

Do you hear that dog whining on the 
far bank of the river .^^ 

It seems as though a witch were rid- 
ing upon him and lashing him. 

Surely, if it had been possible, Chan- 
dra would have come back by now. 

How I wish this night were over. 

Do you hear the woman's cry? 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 125 

Oh, the women, the women. They 
are ever crying and weeping. But they 
cannot turn those back, who must go 
forward. 

It is getting unbearable to sit still 
like this. Men imagine all sorts of 
things, when they sit still. Let us go 
also. As soon as we are started on our 
way, fear will leave us. 

But who will show us the way? 

There is the blind Minstrel. 

What do you say. Minstrel.'^ Can 
you show us the way.^^ 

Minstrel 
Yes. 

But we can hardly believe you. How 
can you find out the path by simply 
singing? 

If Chandra never comes back, you 
shall — 



126 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

^ We never knew that we loved Chan- 
dra so intensely. We made light of 
him all these days. 

When we are in the playing mood, 
we become so intent on the play, that 
we neglect the playmate. 

But, if he onces comes back, we 
shall never neglect him any more. 

I am afraid that we have often given 
him pain. 

Yet his love rose above all that. We 
never knew how beautiful he was, 
when we could see him every day. 

{They sing.] 

When there was light in my world 

You stood outside my eyes. 
Now that there is none. 

You come into my heart. 
When there were dolls for me, I played; 

You smiled and watched from the door. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 127 

Now that the dolls have crumbled to dust. 

You come and sit by me. 
And I have only my heart for my music. 

When my lute-strings have broken. 

That Minstrel sits so still and silent. 
I don't like it. 

He looks ominous, — like the lowering 
autumn cloud. 

Let us dismiss him. 

No, no. It gives us heart, when he 
sits there. 

Don't you see, that there is no sign 
of fear in his face? 

It seems as if some messages were 
striking his forehead. His body ap- 
pears to espy someone in the distance. 
There seem to be eyes on the tips of 
his fingers. 

Simply by watching him, we can see 
that someone is coming through the 
dark. 



128 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Look. He is standing up. He is 
turning towards the East, and making 
his obeisance. 

Yet there is nothing to be seen, not 
even a streak of light. 

Why not ask him, what it is that he 
sees? 

No, don't disturb him. 

Do you know, it seems to me, that 
the morning has dawned in him. 

As if the ferry boat of light had 
reached the shore of his forehead. 

His mind is still, like the morning 
sky. 

The storm of birds' songs will burst 
out presently. 

He is striking his lute. His heart is 
singing. 

Hush. He is singing. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 129 

[The Minstrel sings,] 

Victory to thee, victory for ever, 

brave heart. 
Victory to life, to joy, to love. 

To eternal light. 
The night shall wane, the darkness shall 
vanish. 
Have faith, brave heart. 
Wake up from sleep, from languor of 
despair. 
Receive the light of new dawn with a 
song. 

[A ray of light hovers before the cavern.] 

Ah. There he is. Chandra. Chan- 
dra. 

Hush. Don't make any noise. I 
cannot see him distinctly. 

Ah. It cannot be any other than 
Chandra. 

Oh, what joy! 



130 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

Chandra ! Come ! 

Chandra! How could you leave us 
for so long? 

Have you been able to capture the 
Old Man? 

Chandra 
Yes, I have. 

But we don't see him. 

Chandra 
He is coming. 

But what did you see in the cave? — 
Tell us. 

Chandra 

No, I cannot tell you. 

Why? 

Chandra 

If my mind were a voice, then I could 
tell you. 

But could you see him, whom you 
captured? Was he the Old Man of the 
World? 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 131 

The Old Man who would like to 
drink up the sea of youth, in his in- 
satiable thirst? 

^ Was it the One, who is like the dark 
night, whose eyes are fixed on his breast, 
whose feet are turned the wrong way 
round, who walks backwards? 

Was it the One, who wears the gar- 
land of skulls, and lives in the burning- 
ground of the dead? 

Chandra 

I do not know, I cannot say. But he 
is coming. You shall see him. 

Minstrel 

Yes, I see him. 

[The light strengthens and gradually 
throughout the scene, grows to a culmi- 
nating brilliance at the close.] 

Where? 

Minstrel 
Here. 



132 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

He is coming out of the cave. — Some- 
one is coming out of the cave. 

How wonderful. 

Chandra 
Why, it is you! 
Our Leader ! 
Our Leader! 
Our Leader! 
Where is the Old Man? 

Leader 
He is nowhere. 
Nowhere.^ 

Leader 
Yes, nowhere. 
Then what is he? 

Leader 
He is a dream. 
Then you are the real? 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 133 

Leader 
Yes. 

And we are the real? 

Leader 

Yes. 

Those who saw you from behind, 
imagined you in all kinds of shapes. 

We didn't recognize you through the 
dust. 

You seemed old. 

And then you came out of the cave, — 
and now you look like a boy. 

It seems just as if we had seen you 
for the first time. 

Chandra 

You are first every time. You are 
first over and over again. 

Leader 
Chandra! You must own your de- 



134 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

feat. You couldn't catch the Old 
Man. 

Chandra 

Let our festival begin. The sun is up. 

Minstrel, if you keep so still, you will 
swoon away. Sing something. 

{The Minstrel sings,] 
I lose thee, to find thee back again and 
again, 
My beloved. 
Thou leavest me, that I may receive thee 

all the more, when thou returnest. 
Thou canst vanish behind the moment's 
screen 
Only because thou art mine for ever- 
more. 
My beloved. 
When I go in search of thee, my heart 
trembles^ spreading ripples across 
my love. 
Thou smilest through thy disguise of utter 
absence, and my tears sweeten thy 
smile. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 135 

Do you hear the hum? 

Yes. 

They are not bees, but the people 
of the place. 

Then Dada must be near at hand 
with his quatrains. 

Dada 
Is this the Leader .^^ 
Yes, Dada. 

Dada 

Oh, I am so glad you have come. 
I must read my collection of quat- 
rains. 

No. No. Not the whole collection, 
but only one. 

Dada 
Very well. One will do. 



136 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

The sun is at the gate of the East, his 
drum of victory sounding in the sky. 

The Night says I am blessed, my death 
is bHss. 

He receives his alms of gold, filling his 
wallet, — and departs. 

That is to say, — 

No. We don't want your that is to 
say. 

Dada 
It means, — 

Whatever it means, we are deter- 
mined not to know it. 

Dada 
What makes you so desperate .^^ 
It is our festival day. 

Dada 

Ah. Is that so.f^ Then let me go to 
all the neighbours, — 

No, you mustn't go there. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 137 

Dada 
But is there any need for me here? 
Yes. 

Dada 
Then my quatrains, — 

Chandra 

We shall colour your quatrains with 
such a thick brush, that no one will 
know whether they have any meaning 
at all. 

And then you will be without any 
means. 

The neighbourhood will desert you. 

The Watchman will take you to be a 
fool. 

And the Pundit will take you to be a 
blockhead. 

And your own people will consider 
you to be useless. 



138 THE CYCLE OF SPRING 

And the outside people will consider 
you queer. 

Chandra 

But we shall crown you, Dada, with 
a crown of new leaves. 

We shall put a garland of jasmine 
round your neck. 

And there will be no one else, except 
ourselves, who will know your true 
worth. 

The Song of the Festival of 
Spring 

[In which all the persons of the drama, 
not excepting Sruti-bhushan, unite 
on the main stage in the dance of 
Spring.] 

Come and rejoice. 

For April is awake. 
Fling yourselves into the flood of being ^ 

Bursting the bondage of the past. 



THE CYCLE OF SPRING 139 

April is awake. 
Life's shoreless sea 

Is heaving in the sun before you. 
All the losses are lost. 

And death is drowned in its waves. 
Plunge into the deep without fear. 

With the gladness of April in your 
heart. 



Printed in the United States of America 



'T^HE following pages contain advertisements of 
Macmillan books by the same author 



THE WORKS OF SIR RABINDRANATH TAGORE 

Personality 

Preparing 

An interesting series of lectures among which are "What Is Art?" 
"Meditation," "My School," "The Second Birth" and "The World 
of PersonaUty." 



Sacrifice and Other Plays 

Preparing 

A book containing four separate plays consisting of "Sacrifice," 
"King and Queen," "The Ascetic" and "Malmi." 

Tagore represents a rare development of dramatic genius, one 
peculiarly Indian in character. In his plays there is little striving 
after ordinary stage effects, no bid for a curtain, no holding up of 
the moment of suspense, in order to force a sensation with which we 
are so familiar on our American stage. He attains a naturalness of 
style, a simplicity of mode, a fluidity of movement, which is con- 
genially influenced by the musical affinity of his themes and the 
leisurely drama of the open air and the courtyard. 

Nationalism 

Preparing 

A series of lectures among them are "NationaUsm in the West," 
"NationaHsm in Japan," "Nationalism in India." 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York 



THE WORKS OF SIR RABINDRANATH TAGORE 

Chitra: A Play in One Act 

Cio^k, $1.00 and $i.jo; leather y $i.6o and $2.00 

" He has given us the soul of the East disembodied of its sen- 
suality, and within it shines the most perfect tribute to true 
womanhood and its claims." — Pall Mall Gazette. 

" The play is told with the simplicity and wonder of imagery 
always characteristic of Rabindranath Tagore." — Cleveland 
Plain Dealer. 

The Crescent Moon : Child Poems 

Cloth, $i.2j and $1.^0 ; leather, $j.6o and $2.00 

" Comes closest to life as we know it and to the spirit of the 
West. . . . We can accept his lyrics of children in full com- 
prehension of their worth, even though we have few poets who 
speak with such understanding." — The Outlook. 

" Tagore is probably the greatest living poet, and this book of 
child poems has the bloom of all young life upon it faithfully 
transcribed by genius." — Metropolitan. 

The Gardener 

Cloth, $1.2^ and $1.^0 ; leather, $1.60 and $2.00 

" The very stuff of imagination. . . . Their beauty is as deli- 
cate as the reflection of the color of a flower." — Westminster 
Gazette. 

" The verses in this book are far finer and more genuine than 
even the best in ' Gitanjali.' " — The Daily News (London). 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New Tork 



THE WORKS OF SIR RABINDRANATH TAGORE 

Stray Birds 

Cloth, i2mo, $r.jo 
Frontispiece in color and decorations by Willy Pogany. 

Here is the kernel of the wisdom and insight of the great 
Hindu seer in the form of short extracts. These sayings are 
largely taken from his other works, and are the essence of his 
Eastern message to the Western world. The frontispiece and 
decorations by Willy Pogany are beautiful in themselves and en- 
hance the spiritual significance of this extraordinary book. 



Fruit Gathering 



C/otA, $i.2§ and $i.^o 
Leather, $i.6o atid $2.00 



"Tagore shows us a shining pathway up which we can con- 
fidentially travel to those regions of wisdom and experience which 
consciously or unconsciously we try to reach." — Boston Tran- 
script. 

The Hungry Stones and Other Stories 

Cloth, $i.3S a.nd $1.^0 
Leather, $1.60 and $2.00 

" These short stories furnish a double guarantee of the Hindu 
Nobel Prize winners' rightful place among the notable literary 
figures of our time." — New York Globe. 

"Imagination, charm of style, poetry, and depth of feeling 
without gloominess, characterize this volume of stories of the 
Eastern poet." — Boston Transcript. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York 



THE WORKS OF SIR RABINDRANATH TAGORE 

Gitanjali : Song Offerings 

C^^k, $/.2j and $/.jo 
Leather^ $i.6o and $2.00 

" Mr. Tagore's translations are of trance-like beauty." 

— T/ie London Athenceum. 

" These poems are representative of the highest degree of cul- 
ture, and yet instinct with the simplicity and directness of the 
dweller on the soil." — New York Sun. 

"... it is the essence of all poetry of East and West alike — 
the language of the soul." — The Indian Magazine and Review. 



Songs of Kabir 



Cloth, %i.2S and $1.^0 
Leather, $1.60 and $2.00 



" Wonderfully graphic, conveying the universal thought of the 
Hindu poet, yet retaining mystic Eastern symbolism in express- 
ing it." — Baltimore Sun. 

" The trend of Mr. Tagore's mystical genius makes him a pecul- 
iarly sympathetic interpreter of Kabir's vision and thought, and 
the book is perhaps one of the most important which that famous 
Hindu has introduced to the western world." — Hartford Post. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York 



THE WORKS OF SIR RABINDRANATH TAGORE 

The King of the Dark Chamber 

C/o^A, $1.2 J and $1.50 
Leather, $1.60 and $2.00 

" The most careless reader can hardly proceed far into these 
inspired pages without realizing that he is in the presence of holy 
things — of an allegory of the soul as has not before been told in 
the English tongue." — Chicago Evening Post. 



The Post Office 



Cloth, $1.00 and $1.^0 

Leather, $1.60 and $2.00 



''Once more Tagore demonstrates the universality of his 
genius ; once more he shows how art and true feeling know no 
racial and religious lines." — Kentucky Post. 

Sadhana : The Realization of Life 

Cloth, $1.25 and $1.^0 
Leather, $1.60 and $2.00 

"The broad and sympathetic treatment of the subject should 
recommend it to intelligent readers of whatever type of re- 
ligion." — Boston Herald. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York 



THE WORKS OF SIR RABINDRANATH TAGORE 

THE NEW BOLPUR EDITION OF 
**The Standard Edition of Tagore's Works" 

Each volume in the Bolpur Edition, cloth, $i.^o ; leather, $2.00 

This beautiful new edition, named after Tagore's famous school at Bol- 
pur, India, is a fitting celebration of his recent visit to America. There are 
ten volumes in the Bolpur Edition, representing Tagore's previously pub- 
lished poems, plays and essays, and his two new books just issued, " Fruit 
Gathering," and " The Hungry Stones, and Other Stories." 

The paper, printing and general appearance of the volumes are unusual, 
carrying out the intention of the publishers to make these books the stand- 
ard editions of this distinguished poet's works. 

A special design has been made for the covers, the end papers and title 
pages are in colors, and each volume contains a photogravure frontispiece, 
one of these from a portrait of Tagore taken during his recent visit to Japan. 

SIR RABINDRANATH TAGORE'S WORKS 

(^Complete in the Bolpur Edition) 

FRUIT GATHERING. (Just published.) A sequel to the famous 

Gitanjali. 
THE HUNGRY STONES, AND OTHER STORIES. (Just 

published.) 
CHITRA: A Play in One Act. 
THE CRESCENT MOON : Child Poems. 
THE GARDENER: Love Poems. 
GITANJALI : Religious Poems. 

THE KING OF THE DARK CHAMBER. A Play. 
SONGS OF KABIR. 
SADHANA : The Realization of Life. 
THE POST OFFICE: A Play. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York 



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